Fixing a USB flash drive

A couple of Christmases ago I was given a 1 GB Lexar Jump Drive. I guess
they were pretty expensive then, as that capacity was relatively new.
Anyway, I've been using it for months without problem, until today when I
started copying a bunch of files that filled it beyond the point where it
had been used previously.

At about 600 MB, it hung with the activity light strobing rapidly, and
eventually produced a "sector not found" and "delayed write failure". I am
aware of USB driver and chipset incomptibility problems that can lead to
this error. Leaving the copied files in place, I ran ScanDisk and Norton
Disk Doctor set to test for bad sectors and to test the unused drive
space. Both of them found no problems.

Later tonight, at home, I tried the same exercise on 2 different machines
having very different architecture, different operating systems and USB
chipsets ... with exactly the same result at the same point. I'm beginning
to believe this is a problem with the flash itself and not a driver or
compatibility issue.

If I delete ~300 MB of files, the drive behaves fine until that empty space
is again filled, and then it fails just as before. The already-written
contents of the drive are fine, and verify.

I'm inclined to just toss it as prices have come down, and while there is
a 2 year warranty I don't have a receipt and the Lexar website makes it
very clear that it is absolutely, positively required for any warranty
claim.

I was wondering, though, if someone could recommend a (preferably free or
cheap) diagnostic that will write to every unused sector and perhaps map
out the bad ones, the way the old-fashioned disk utilities used to do.

"Mike S." <retsuhcs.RemoveThis@xinap.moc> wrote in message
news:dt5qf6$jnb$1@reader2.panix.com...
>
>
> A couple of Christmases ago I was given a 1 GB Lexar Jump Drive. I guess
> they were pretty expensive then, as that capacity was relatively new.
> Anyway, I've been using it for months without problem, until today when I
> started copying a bunch of files that filled it beyond the point where it
> had been used previously.
>
> At about 600 MB, it hung with the activity light strobing rapidly, and
> eventually produced a "sector not found" and "delayed write failure". I am
> aware of USB driver and chipset incomptibility problems that can lead to
> this error. Leaving the copied files in place, I ran ScanDisk and Norton
> Disk Doctor set to test for bad sectors and to test the unused drive
> space. Both of them found no problems.
>
> Later tonight, at home, I tried the same exercise on 2 different machines
> having very different architecture, different operating systems and USB
> chipsets ... with exactly the same result at the same point. I'm beginning
> to believe this is a problem with the flash itself and not a driver or
> compatibility issue.
>
> If I delete ~300 MB of files, the drive behaves fine until that empty
> space
> is again filled, and then it fails just as before. The already-written
> contents of the drive are fine, and verify.
>
> I'm inclined to just toss it as prices have come down, and while there is
> a 2 year warranty I don't have a receipt and the Lexar website makes it
> very clear that it is absolutely, positively required for any warranty
> claim.
>
> I was wondering, though, if someone could recommend a (preferably free or
> cheap) diagnostic that will write to every unused sector and perhaps map
> out the bad ones, the way the old-fashioned disk utilities used to do.
>
>

Did you try to reformat the drive? If it's formatted in anything other than
FAT, you might change to FAT. I had many problems with a flash disk I had
formatted in NTFS and when I reformatted in FAT it acted better. If you're
using XP, I would recommend formatting by going to Start - Settings -
Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk
Management. Right click on the drive in the display window and you'll get
all the format options. Of course, save your files before formatting. HTH,
J